James Conner Injury Fantasy Football Impact: Emari Demercado, Keaontay Ingram, Joshua Dobbs, Marquise Brown, Michael Wilson, Zach Ertz and More
The running back injuries continue to pile up. The latest addition to the list is Arizona Cardinals’ James Conner.
Let’s dive into the couple of running back options that might replace Conner, and then discuss how the injury might affect other offensive players from a fantasy perspective.
Explore the best in-season tool to manage lineup/start decisions including predictive waiver analytics to help prioritize waiver pickups, projections, auction values, trade suggestions, trade value charts, rest of season rankings, power rankings, and tons more with Fantasy Assistant.
Keaontay Ingram, Emari Demercado, Tony Jones, Corey Clement Fantasy Outlook
The Conner injury is a big blow for Arizona as he’s been a massive part of the team’s offense.
Conner has played 194 snaps and gotten 76 touches already. He’s turned those looks into 364 rushing yards and two scores on 68 carries and 30 receiving yards on eight catches and 10 targets.
Next up on the depth chart is Ingram, but he’s been dealing with a neck injury, so let’s cover Demercado first instead.
Demercado has played 91 snaps this season, but 44 of those came in week 5 when Conner was injured. He hadn’t gotten more than two carries a game until that contest, and his most touches in a contest was just four.
Demercado performed well in the team’s loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, rushing for 45 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries. He added one catch on three targets for 12 yards.
Based on that performance, my guess is that Demercado has the best chance of serving as the team’s lead back in week 6 against the Los Angeles Rams.
Another reason why I believe Demercado will leapfrog Ingram on the depth chart this week is based on what Ingram has produced in two years with Arizona.
Ingram played in 12 games and produced just 81 scrimmage yards on 31 touches a year ago. This season in three games, Ingram has just 23 scrimmage yards on 13 touches. Those numbers suggest he’d be the backup to Demercado.
Arizona also claimed Tony Jones off waivers on Monday to add another body to the running back room. Jones was with the New Orleans Saints to start the season. He helped fill in when Alvin Kamara was suspended and Jamaal Williams went down with an injury.
The only other option currently on the roster is Corey Clement, who is on the team’s practice squad. Clement has a bit of NFL success in his seven-year career, but he’s mainly been used as a reserve. Clement has only played on special teams in his two games this season, but at least has been in the building for several months.
At this time, my guess is that Demercado is the lead back against the Rams this coming weekend. I could see Jones, Clement and Ingram playing, but I don’t see any of them getting enough snaps to be fantasy relevant.
Whoever plays and gets touches will be facing a Rams’ defense that’s been strong against the run so far, with an average of just 16 points to backs a game. It’s a matchup I expect the Rams to control, so Arizona will probably be playing from behind most of the way, which doesn’t favor a running back.
I’d add Demercado to your roster and monitor news about the Arizona backfield as the week progresses. If he’s in line to see the majority of the snaps and touches, Demercado is a candidate to start at a flex spot, but I’d much rather turn to a player of mine that’s consistently played and produced this season.
What the Conner Injury Means for Other Skill Players
Not knowing exactly how many weeks Conner will miss, we’ll tackle the fantasy outlook on a week-by-week basis instead.
The Rams struggle in slowing opposing tight ends, have been average against quarterbacks and strong against opposing receivers. We’ll take a look at tight end Zach Ertz first and what he might do with more involvement in the offense.
Ertz has been the second-most targeted pass catcher through five weeks, although it hasn’t resulted in great fantasy numbers. The tight end has caught 22 of the 34 passes thrown his way for 146 yards and a touchdown. He does have the most red zone targets, and with Conner out, he could get even more looks. Seeing his favorable matchup, I’d be in favor of starting him this coming week, unless you have one of the elite players at the position.
Marquise Brown has been the team’s clear leader in the passing game, catching 25 passes on 42 targets. He’s gone for 300 yards and three touchdowns. I’d expect the Cardinals to maybe pass a touch more than they have so far against Los Angeles, so Brown should be started confidently.
Michael Wilson has been the third option in the passing game, with 255 receiving yards and two touchdowns on 15 catches and 18 targets. I liked Wilson coming off a seven-target game in week 4, but he was targeted only twice in week 5. With Conner out, Wilson should get more snaps and usage, so I’d definitely add him to your roster, but probably would avoid starting him unless you absolutely have no other options.
Rondale Moore is another name to watch with Conner out. He’s caught 11 passes for just 81 yards this season, but has rushed for 116 yards and a touchdown on eight carries. Arizona could give him a few more carries with Conner out, but again, Moore is a guy I’d stash on my roster, but wouldn’t feel safe starting.
Quarterback Joshua Dobbs has filled in pretty nicely for the injured Kyler Murray. Dobbs’ worst performance of the season was this past weekend, when he tossed his first two interceptions and for only 166 yards. This upcoming game will be a big challenge for Dobbs without his top running back, but it’s a favorable matchup. He’s another guy I wouldn’t start if I didn’t have to, but I’d definitely take Dobbs over a number of other borderline starters.
Final Thoughts
The Conner injury is a blow to the Cardinals’ offense, but opens the opportunity for several others to step into larger roles.
I like Demercado to lead the running game this coming week, but again would only start him if forced to. He is about as good of option out there in deeper leagues, and might be the best choice if you had Conner. I don’t expect a huge game out of him, but think his play last week gives him the edge to lead the touches and snaps this week.
As for the other potential starters, I like Ertz a lot for the game against the Rams. It’s a favorable matchup and should be a game he’s more involved in overall. Brown has proven to be a solid fantasy performer and should be started most weeks, especially in ones where other big parts of the offense are out.
As for Wilson and Moore, they are guys I’d definitely consider adding to my roster, but would avoid starting this upcoming week unless I’m in a deeper league. They’ve been to inconsistent for my liking, and I think the Cardinals lean on Ertz and Brown in the passing game until Conner returns.
I’d have to see your other quarterback options to make a fair call on Dobbs. I’m sure we’ll cover Dobbs in a start/sit article later in the week, so check back for that.
